Russia’s Black Sea crude oil exports to EU countries in December 2022 – early January 2023. The first violations of the embargo

The Monitoring Group of BlackSeaNews
and the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies

The Monitoring Group of the Black Sea Institute of Strategic Studies and BlackSeaNews, based on its own monitoring, reports on the trends in the export of Russia’s petroleum products from the ports of the Russian Federation on the Black and Azov Seas in April-December 2022.  

Summary

As we reported earlier, before the EU sanctions on maritime exports of Russian crude oil came into effect on 5 December 2022, November 2022 had brought the decrease in:

• the total volume of Russian maritime crude oil exports by almost 1 million (–959,083) tons,

• exports to EU countries by almost 0.5 million tons,

• exports to non-EU countries by almost 0.5 million tons (–487,541), signalling Russia’s unsuccessful attempts to replace its EU exports with exports to other countries.

However, in December 2022, despite the embargo that came into effect on 5 December 2022, there wasn’t any significant decline in maritime exports of Russia’s crude oil from the Black Sea to EU countries. The volume of exports remained at the level of 1 million tons, the same as in November 2022.

The volume of Russia’s Black Sea crude oil exports to EU countries, starting from the embargo date of 5 December 2022, even increased slightly: it amounted to about 560,000 tons - or 55% of the total volume of Russia’s Black Sea crude oil exports to EU countries in December 2022. The shipowners of all oil tankers that arrived with a cargo of Russian crude oil in EU countries in violation of the embargo in December 2022 are companies registered in Greece (See Table 2).

3 of the 5 oil tankers arrived in violation of the embargo at the well-known raid transshipment in the Laconian Gulf in the territorial waters of Greece, one each at the ports CARTAGENA, Spain, and MILAZZO, Italy.

However, this "detective" story does not end there, but seems to have only just begun: in the first 10 days of January 2023, 4 oil tankers carrying Russian crude oil (deadweight 371,025 tons) arrived at the ports of EU countries in violation of the embargo, and another 6 (deadweight 617,113 tons) indicated them as their destination ports and are currently on their way there. 

The full text of the analytical report

Important notes:

a) The Russian Federation exports crude oil and petroleum products (fuel oil, gas oil, solar oil) from the ports on the Black and Azov Seas. They are exported by different types of vessels – crude oil tankers and oil/chemical tankers (or oil products tankers) respectively. Crude oil tankers are usually very large: in the Black Sea, one such tanker takes from 100 to 150 thousand tons of crude oil. Oil products tankers have a significantly lower freight-carrying capacity: the commonest are in the ranges of 3-5 and 25-30 thousand tons. The monthly ratio between the volume of exports of Russia’s crude oil and petroleum products is approximately 3:1.

b) Two separate streams of crude oil are exported from Black Sea ports: crude oil of the Russian Federation (from the ports of Novorossiysk, Taman, and Tuapse, from the transshipment points in the Kerch Strait and to the south of it) and crude oil of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) - from a separate terminal of the port of Novorossiysk. The CPC’s crude oil contains 80% of Kazakh oil and 20% of Russian oil. Russian oil is under international sanctions. Kazakh oil is not under sanctions, and this mixing creates a potential problem. For more details, see https://www.blackseanews.net/en/read/191374.

c) In tables and figures presenting the volume of crude oil and petroleum products exports, the term DWT (deadweight) is used - a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, lubricants, technical and drinking water, passengers, luggage, crew, and provisions. When analysing the transportation of large volumes of oil and petroleum products, other types of cargoes carried by a ship do not significantly influence the results, since even on tankers with a deadweight of 100-150 thousand tons, the sum of the weights of fuel, water, provisions, and a small crew is in the hundreds of tons and does not affect the results of the analysis.

d) This analytical report does not take into account the export volumes of crude oil and petroleum products from the Russian Federation to the Black Sea ports and transshipment points of Romania and Bulgaria.

Reference: In July 2022, these exports were estimated to be around 3.1 million tons (1.9 million tons to Romania and 1.2 million tons to Bulgaria). Of these volumes, Russia’s crude oil accounted for about 2.4 million tons (1.4 million tons to Romania and 1.0 million tons to Bulgaria).

e) In tables and figures, for convenience, the term "EU+" is used, which covers not only EU member states but also the USA, the UK, and Monaco. The appropriateness of such grouping is justified by the fact that the exports of oil and petroleum products of the Russian Federation to these countries are very insignificant.

f) In the database of oil tankers at the end of the article, “Crude oil tanker CPC” means that this tanker carries oil from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s terminal. Tankers carrying crude oil of the Russian Federation are marked as "Crude oil tankers.”

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The volume and geography of Russia’s crude oil exports from Black Sea ports in April–December 2022¹

¹ Russian crude oil is exported from several places: 1) Sheskharis terminal in the port of Novorossiysk; 2) Tuapse port; 3) Taman port; 4) Port Kavkaz; 5) the raid transshipment in the Kerch Strait; 6) the Black Sea raid transshipment 20 miles south of the Kerch Strait.

Table 1. The volume of Russia’s crude oil exports from Black Sea ports in April–December 2022, tons

Thus, despite the embargo that came into effect on 5 December 2022, there wasn’t any significant decline in maritime exports of Russia’s crude oil from the Black Sea to EU countries.

The volume of exports remained at the level of 1 million tons, the same as in November 2022 (See Figure 1).

This oil on board tankers arrived in December 2022 at the ports or territorial waters of 3 EU countries – Greece, Italy, and Spain (See Table 1, Figure 2).

It's worth noting that the volume of Russia’s Black Sea crude oil exports to EU countries, starting from the embargo date of 5 December 2022, even increased slightly:

it amounted to about 560,000 tons - or 55% of the total volume of Russia’s Black Sea crude oil exports to EU countries in December 2022.

Before 5 December 2022, about 460,000 tons of Russian crude oil were exported to EU countries - that is, 45% of the export volume (See Figure 3).

Table 2 provides detailed information on tankers that carried Russian crude oil to EU countries in December 2022.

The lines with information about tankers that left Russian ports after the embargo was introduced and arrived carrying a cargo of crude oil at the ports or territorial waters of EU countries are highlighted in grey. Departure/arrival dates from 05 December 2022 (when the embargo came into effect) and corresponding ports are marked in brown. 

With regard to the tankers that, according to the objective data of our monitoring, violated the embargo, the maps from the professional maritime service for tracking maritime traffic are provided, which record:

1) the complete route of the tanker from Russia’s port to the port of an EU country;
2) the departure of the tanker from a specialised bulk oil terminal at a Russian port of departure;
3) the arrival of the tanker at the port of destination of an EU country or a raid transshipment in the territorial waters of an EU country.

Thus, in December 2022, 9 tankers with a deadweight of 1,019,247 tons arrived carrying a cargo of Russian crude oil at the ports or territorial waters of EU countries. Of them, 4 tankers with a deadweight of 458,937 tons left Russian ports before 05 December 2022, and 5 tankers with a deadweight of 560,310 tons departed from Russian ports starting from 05 December 2022, that is, when the embargo had already come into effect.

The shipowners of all the 5 oil tankers that arrived with a cargo of Russian crude oil in EU countries in violation of the embargo in December 2022 are companies registered in Greece (See Table 2).

3 of the 5 oil tankers arrived in violation of the embargo at the well-known raid transshipment in the Laconian Gulf in the territorial waters of Greece, one each at the ports (ES CAR) CARTAGENA, Spain, and (IT MLZ) MILAZZO, Italy.

However, this "detective" story does not end there, but seems to have only just begun. Because in the first 10 days of January 2023, 4 oil tankers carrying Russian crude oil (deadweight 371,025 tons) arrived at the ports of EU countries in violation of the embargo, and another 6 (deadweight 617,113 tons) indicated them as their destination ports and are currently on their way there (See Table 3).

Thus, in the first half of January 2023, about 350,000 tons of Russian crude oil have already been delivered to EU countries in violation of the embargo and at least another 600,000 tons are going to be delivered in the next few days.

Our next articles will look at whether Russia managed to divert Black Sea exports of crude oil to other markets in December 2022, a huge surge in the exports of the Kazakh Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s oil from the Black Sea, and the situation with maritime exports of petroleum products.

Table 2. Tankers carrying Russian crude oil to EU countries in December 2022

#	Name Vessel Type / IMO / DWT / Flag				Port of departure / Actual time of departure		Port of destination/ Estimated (or actual) time of arrival		Shipowner
01	SKY 1 Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9292979 DWT: 105200 Flag: St.Kitts and Nevis				RU TAMAN ANCH ATD: 2022-11-26 03:22		GR LAKONIKOS GULF ATA: 2022-12-05		Ship manager/ Commercial manager LTA SHIPPING FZCO Unit 101, Building A2, Dubai Digital Park, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Registered owner WATER VERDE LTD Care of LTA Shipping FZCO, Unit 101, Building A2, Dubai Digital Park, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
02	SUEZ ICE SUPREME Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9296418 DWT: 146356 Flag: Liberia				RU KAVKAZ SOUTH ANCH ATD: 2022-11-16 03:10		GR LAKONIKOS GULF ATA: 2022-12-04 09:40		Ship manager/ Commercial manager UNIVERSAL TANKER MGMT UTM-CYP Office B3, 2nd Floor, 2B, Afroditis Street, 1060 Nicosia, Cyprus. Registered owner SUPREME CRUDE TRANSPORTS INC Care of Universal Tanker Management (UTM) Ltd, Office B3, 2nd Floor, 2B, Afroditis Street, 1060 Nicosia, Cyprus.
03	BEKS EBRU Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9308132 DWT: 49911 Flag: Marshall Is				RU NVS NOVOROSSIYSK ATD: 2022-12-01 17:28		ES BCN BARCELONA ETA: 2022-12-09 16:30		Ship manager/ Commercial manager MAERSK TANKERS MR K/S Holmbladsgade 133, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark. Registered owner DOLPHIN MARITIME & TRADING-MAI Care of Maersk Tankers MR K/S, Holmbladsgade 133, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark
04	ELANDRA OSPREY Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9817626 DWT: 157470 Flag: Liberia				RU NVS NOVOROSSIYSK ATD: 2022-12-01 22:40		IT AUG AUGUSTA ATA: 2022-12-20 22:09		Registered owner SEA 244 LEASING CO LTD Care of Mansel Pte Ltd, 15-02, The Heeren, 260, Orchard Road, Singapore 238855 Ship manager/ Commercial manager MANSEL PTE LTD 15-02, The Heeren, 260, Orchard Road, Singapore 238855
05	SOVEREIGN Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9390939 DWT: 74998 Flag: Liberia				RU TUA TUAPSE ATD: 2022-12-10 23:26		GR KLX KALAMATA in fact GR LAKONIKOS GULF ETA: 2022-12-24 03:00		Registered owner XIANG T96 HK INTERNATIONAL Care of Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd (DTM), 94, Poseidonos Avenue & 2, Nikis Street, Glyfada, 166 75 Athens, Greece. Ship manager/ Commercial manager DYNACOM TANKERS MANAGEMENT LTD 94, Poseidonos Avenue & 2, Nikis Street, Glyfada, 166 75 Athens, Greece.
	1. Recording the complete route of the tanker				2. Recording the departure of the tanker from the port of departure		3. Recording the arrival of the tanker at the port of destination
									All the maps presented in the table are available in a full size when opened in a new tab
06	ANAFI WARRIOR Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9370848 DWT: 107593 Flag: Greece				RU TAM TAMAN ATD: 2022-12-14 02:13		GR KLX KALAMATA in fact GR LAKONIKOS GULF ETA: 2022-12-23 14:00		Ship manager/ Commercial manager POLEMBROS SHIPPING LTD 82, Vouliagmenis Avenue, Elliniko, 167 77 Athens, Greece. Registered owner SERENADE MARINE CORP Care of Polembros Shipping Ltd, 82, Vouliagmenis Avenue, Elliniko, 167 77 Athens, Greece
	Recording the complete route of the tanker				Recording the departure of the tanker from the port of departure		Recording the arrival of the tanker at the port of destination
									All the maps presented in the table are available in a full size when opened in a new tab
07	TRIDENT HOPE Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9271377 DWT: 105985 Flag: Panama				RU TAM TAMAN ATD: 2022-12-09 07:10		GR KLX KALAMATA in fact GR LAKONIKOS GULF ETA: 2023-01-09 14:00		Ship manager/ Commercial manager NEW SHIPPING LTD-LIB 57A, Poseidonos Avenue, Moschato, 183 44 Piraeus, Greece. Registered owner ZAHARA SHIPPING LTD Care of New Shipping Ltd, 57A, Poseidonos Avenue, Moschato, 183 44 Piraeus, Greece.
	Recording the complete route of the tanker				Recording the departure of the tanker from the port of departure		Recording the arrival of the tanker at the port of destination
									All the maps presented in the table are available in a full size when opened in a new tab
08	NISSOS CHRISTIANA Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9694658 DWT: 114264 Flag: Greece				RU NVS NOVOROSSIYSK ATD: 2022-12-23 00:30		IT MLZ MILAZZO ATA: 2023-01-04 09:54		Ship manager/ Commercial manager KYKLADES MARITIME CORP 2, Ethnarchou Makariou Street & Dimitrios Falireos Street, 185 47 Piraeus, Greece. Registered owner CHRISTIANA MARINE CORP Care of Kyklades Maritime Corp (Kyklades Naftiki Eteria), 2, Ethnarchou Makariou Street & Dimitrios Falireos Street, 185 47 Piraeus, Greece.
	Recording the complete route of the tanker				Recording the departure of the tanker from the port of departure		Recording the arrival of the tanker at the port of destination
									All the maps presented in the table are available in a full size when opened in a new tab
09	ENERGY TRIUMPH Crude Oil Tanker IMO: 9817614 DWT: 157470 Flag: United Kingdom				RU NVS NOVOROSSIYSK ATD: 2022-12-22 16:17		ES CAR CARTAGENA ETA: 2023-01-05 08:00		Registered owner FORTUNE GRIND SHIPPING LTD Care of Golden Energy Management SA, 2, G (Gama) Street, Elliniko, 167 77 Athens, Greece. Ship manager/ Commercial manager GOLDEN ENERGY MANAGEMENT SA 2, G (Gama) Street, Elliniko, 167 77 Athens, Greece.
	Recording the complete route of the tanker				Recording the departure of the tanker from the port of departure		Recording the arrival of the tanker at the port of destination
									All the maps presented in the table are available in a full size when opened in a new tab

Table 3. Tankers carrying Russian crude oil to EU countries in early January 2023 (as of 17:00 Kyiv time, 11 January 2023)

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This article has been prepared with the support of the European Union in Ukraine. The content of the article is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of the EU